Over
the years, many have asked us what happens when animals pass into
the Spirit?

We could answer this question very simply by stating that animals
are spirits, as we are spirits. They are born, they live, they
die, and they come back, again and again, into earthly bodies.
In Spirit, they experience very much the same type of growth that
we humans do.

To some, this may seem distressing. After all, humans are supposed
to hold a very special place within creation; well, indeed we
do. But this does not mean that we humans are the only living
spirits in God's great Kingdom of Spirit. Animals are spirits;
plants are spirits; even the rocks and minerals of the earth have
some form of spirit life within their bodies.

But,
what about animals? Are they, in fact, like us humans? The answer
to this question is both YES and NO. Most of whom we would consider
to be members of the wildlife kingdoms belong to what is known
as group souls. They have not experienced what Ancient Wisdom
calls "individualization"; that is, one spirit/soul to one body.
They tend to travel as a group oversoul and incarnate, jointly,
within many different animal bodies. For instance, one hive of
bees may, in fact, be one group spirit/soul incarnated within
all of the individual bees.

In the Bible, when it says that God gave us "dominion" over the
earth, it means that our task is to take care of the earth and
her inhabitants. Part of that responsibility is to help members
of the "lower" kingdoms move along in their spiritual progression.
We do this by showing, through example, what it is to love, to
sacrifice, and to think and reason with logic. This influences
members of the Animal Kingdom and inspires them to be more "human-like"
in their interactions.

We all know of great men and women whom we wish to emulate. These
great people walk the earth with wisdom, love, and charity. We
observe their kindness and wisdom, and that inspires us to want
to be more like them, because we see something in them that we
have not yet attained in our lives.

This causes us all to grow and move along. This is why God sends
us such great men, women, prophets, and masters, from time to
time. Thus it is with us and animals. They share life with us,
and a little bit of us "rubs off" on them. This causes them to
grow and move along in their journey.

At
some point, these animals will want to become even closer to us
humans; they do that by planning, as spirit, incarnations which
will bring them into close human contact. They do this primarily
by becoming domesticated. These are the multitude of pets which
we humans receive into our care and custody.

In this respect, these animals become even more intimate with
humans and share in the "human family" experience. This causes
them to learn, even more, about love, dedication, loyalty, responsibility,
and all the other characteristically human traits.

Eventually, certain animals will have achieved a high enough level
of human-ness to make what can be considered a quantum leap in
their spiritual growth and evolution. They separate from their
group and become individualized spirits and souls. That is, they
are no longer dependent upon the group. They are totally separate
souls and spirits, just as we humans are. Each spirit incarnates
into one body. There is no sharing of experiences or of bodily
forms.

At this stage in their development, their progression is very
similar to that of humans. They incarnate, reincarnate, develop
experiences (as domesticated animals), and become more and more
human-like in their character. They learn to love with greater
passion; think with greater focus; plan, with greater ability;
and, generally, become more and more human in their overall behavior.
Many people comment on how human their pets seem to be. The fact
of the matter is: they are becoming more human in nature.

Animals
Do Communicate Through Mediums

Our
pets are spirits, just as all life is spirit. When our pets pass
away, through death, they will endeavor to link with us and, if
the opportunity lends itself, to communicate. Over the years,
I have had many animals communicate through my mediumship in order
to let their human loved ones know they are OK. They have given
evidence of their survival by showing themselves, as they were
while on earth, and conveying many of their character traits.
And believe me: for some, communication from a pet can be just
as moving as communication from a human loved one.

Animals
do not communicate in exactly the same way human spirits do. They
appear -- through clairvoyance -- just as humans do, but their
communication tends to be more "thought-form" oriented. If you
consider this, it makes perfect sense. Animals have not developed
speech, yet they do communicate with us, through telepathic transmission
of thought forms and desires. When my dog wants a treat or wishes
to go out, he sits and stares at me intently. You can see he is
focussing his thoughts and thinking so very strongly what he desires
to communicate to me. At times, you can almost see the thoughts
jumping from his head to my mind. And, if after a while, I just
don't get the thought, he comes up to me and barks; his way of
verbalizing those thoughts.

When animals communicate through mediums, their "message" comes
forward in much the same way. The medium just knows what the animal
wishes to communicate to his or her earthly loved one. Other than
that, mediumistic communication from animals is very much as it
is from humans.

Animals
and Humans

How
often have I heard someone say: "I just know my pet is going
to come back as a human next time." Does this really happen?
Again, the answer is YES and NO. Certainly, an animal spirit
will eventually become so human-like that he or she will take
the next logical step in progression: reincarnate into a human
bodily form. But, this does not happen as frequently as many
would have us think.

Ancient Wisdom teaches us that this step in consciousness takes
place at great spiritual turning points, where we ALL make some
remarkable transition or "step up" in our spirituality. At times
such as these, many animals, who are ready and willing to take
the next logical step in their progress, will incarnate as humans.
But they tend to do so as a group.

The next question which some might ask is this: are these "new"
human spirits of a lower order than other people. Not necessarily.
What brings an animal to the point of being able to take that
great step in his or her spiritual evolution is the fact that
he or she has become driven less by animal instinct and more by
human kindness, love, and response. Therefore, we must not assume
that when such spirits do incarnate into human form, they will
be savage. To do so would be very judgmental on our part.

Finally, can a human spirit reincarnate back into an animal body?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Some cultures teach that this does happen, primarily
for purposes of punishment. This is called "transmigration of
the soul" and is totally counter to all aspects of the Spirit.
Spiritual evolution is ever onward and upward. Certainly, some
may sidestep things, but to consider that a human goes back into
an animal body is totally false.

Thus it is with our beloved pets. They come into our lives and
give us such joy and companionship. They are spirit and deserve
to be loved and respected as such. They look to us for spiritual
guidance and nourishment. In many ways, their love is totally
unconditional.

Truly, they, too, are children of God and brothers and sisters
of the Spirit.